Gymnastic apparatus



March 28, 1961 FARKAS GYMNASTIC APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORLUCIEN L. FARKAS BY w t? ATTORNEY Filed Sept. 9, 1959 lt-vill March 28,1961 L. L. FARKAS 2,977,118

GYMNASTIC APPARATUS Filed Sept. 9, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 230 232 228230 232 228 INVENTOR LUC!EN FARKAS E: .5. =L

BY w -M ATTORNEY March 28, 1961 L. FARKAS 2,977,118

GYMNASTIC APPARATUS Filed Sept. 9, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR LUCIENL. FARKAS ATTORNEY March 28, 1961 L. L. FARKAS GYMNASTIC APPARATUS FiledSept. 9, 1959 ATTORNEY 2,977,118 GYMNASTIC APPARATUS Lucien L. Farkas,7001 Cane Hills Circle, Orlando, Fla.

Filed Sept. 9 1959 Ser. No. 838,893 8 Claims. (Cl. 272-.60)

This invention relates to exercise and recreation. More particularly,this invention relates to gymnastic apparatus for use by both adults andchildren that is adaptable to provide a variety of forms of exercise andrecreation. V

Heretofore, various gymnastic" apparatus have been proposed. Some ofthese have provided horizontal bars from which swings, rings, and thelike, have been suspended. Many prior devices have been designed for useby persons of one physical size range, and have been unsuitable forpersons of different physical size range.

This invention includes a unitary gymnastic apparatus having both ahorizontal bar for adults and a horizontal bar for children secured to acommon supporting structure.

The invention also provides fixtures for connecting implements such asswings, rings, sandbags, et cetera, to

selected positions on the horizontal bars. The gymnastic apparatus ofthe invention is readily adaptable or convertible to provide variousforms of exercise and recreation. The gymnastic apparatus is soconstructed that the swings, rings, et cetera, and their connectingfixtures, can be displaced so that the horizontal bars are unobstructedand adaptedfor direct manual engagement, as in chinning-up-exeroises.

For a better understanding of the invention and its other objects,advantages and details, reference is'now made to the present preferredembodiments of the invention which are shown, for'purposes ofillustration only, in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: V

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a gymnastic apparatus according to theinvention showing rings suspended from the adult bar, a swing suspendedfrom the-childish bar, and a basketball backboard, ring and net attachedto the frame; a V

.Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of another from of the gymnasticapparatus illustrated in Fig. 1i after it has been adapted to haveaswing suspended from-the, adult bar and a punching bag and platformattached to" the frame; 1'

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a swingseat and illustrating .asling according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a vertical section'throughaiswing seat, similar to Fig. 3, but showing another embodiment of asling accordingto theinvention; I} a v a v Fig. is a fragmentaryelevation, partly broken away,

of another form of the gymnastic apparatus illustratediu zontal bar at aheight suitable for adults and a lower childish bar at a height suitablefor children. Collars are slidably mounted on the horizontal bars andcan be releasably'positioned at various locations along the bars.Various exercise devices, such as swings, rings, climbing ropes, and thelike, can be suspended from the collars. The collars can be moved to theends of the bars to clear the bars for direct manual engagement, as inchinningup exercises,-hanging by the knees, and the like.

The end portions of the frame are so constructed as to support otherexercise devices such as a basketball net orapunching bag. I

Referring to the drawings, a gymnastic apparatus according to theinvention is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7. The gymnasticapparatus inchides an upper adult horizontal bar 20 and a lower childishhorizontal bar 24 extending from a common central supporting A- frame25. The adult bar 20 is spaced a distance above the ground orfloorsupporting the gymnastic apparatus suitable for adults to performexercises thereon and swing therefrom. Similarly, the childish bar 24 isspaced a suitable distance above .the'supporting ground or floor so thatchildren can perform exercises thereon'and swing therefrom.

The term childish, as used herein with respect tobar I 24, is used inits primary meaning- 0f, pertaining to, befitting, or resembling,achild. r j The various bars andA-frames of the gymnastic apparatus canbe thr'eadedly connected. The central A- frame 25 includesa cornerconnector 26 secured to one end of adult bar 20 and secured to the upperends of two divergent frame legs 28 and 30. A cross bar 32 extendshorizontally between intermediate parts of legs 28 and 30 and isconnected thereto by generally T-shaped connectors 34 and 36, Frame feet38 and 40 are formed at the lower ends of frame legs 28 and 38,respectively, and engage the ground or floor, Suitable pegs or screwsextend'throughapertures in the feet 38 and 40 into thesupporting groundor. floor. Alternatively, lag bolts can be employed to anchor thegymnastic apparatus to a concrete support. I

' One end of the childish bar 24 is secured to cross bar 32 byT-connector 42. The opposite end of childish bar 24 is supported by agenerally A-shaped frame 44 including acornerconnector 46 secured to thechildish bar 24 and to two divergent legs 48 and 50, a cross bar '52extending between legs 48 and 50 and connected thereto I legs [66 and68, a cross bar 70 extending between'legs and 68 and connected theretoby generally T-shaped connectors 72 and 74, andgfeet 76 and 78 formed atthe lowerien'ds of legs; 663.!!(1 68, respectively, Inorder to i give'stability'to'the entire gymnastic apparatus, the feet Figs. 1 and 2which has been adapted to have a knotted climbing rope suspendedfromthe. adult bar and a sandbag suspendedfromthe childish bar; v,

Fig. 6 is :a perspective view of another form of the gymnastic apparatusillustrated in Figs. 1, 2," and 5 whereinthe adult bar and childish barhave been cleared to p yidr1 r ct manual sa 9 t rs P hi n zun'ex rc s'sand t l e; n 5

ifi ieflr stat r th m a ti aar r 58, 60,- 76 and 78 are secured to'the-supporting ground or floor in a mannersimilar to that describedabove with respect to feet 38 and 40.

Referring to Fig. 1, a swing 80 is suspended from the childish bar 24.'The Swing includes-a pair of chains 82 I and 84 having. theirlower'ends secured to slings .86 and 88 engaging a seat; 90; A pai'r ofcollars 92 and 94 are slidably positioned on the childish bar 24 forthesuspension of swing 80. The collars 92 and 94am maintained tionincludes a frame supporting an upper adultih oriin position on thechildish-bar 24 by, a positioning chain at, spacedlpositions.

the collar 92 inan snap'hook 102 is coiinectedt t! outer end of adultbar 20 is supported by a generally 'A-shaped frame 62 including a corner;con nector 6.4 secured to the adult bar 20. and to two divergentReferring to Fig.1, the snap hook 98is connectedjto I As seen moreclearly in Fig. 7, the collar 92 includes a cylindrical sleeve 1Msurrounding the bar 24 for both axial and rotational sliding thereon. Apair of loops 106 and 1% extend from diametrically-opposed positions onsleeve 1%. The loop 196 is releasably engaged by snap hook 98. The loop103 is releasably engaged by snap hook 110 secured to the upper end ofswing chain 82. Each of the other collars in the gymnastic apparatus isconstructed similarly to the collar 92 shown in Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. l, the, swing chain 84 is releasably attached tocollar 24 by a snap hook 112. The positioning chain 96 extends from aloop 114- secured to connector 46 and is releasably attached at itsopposite end to a loop 116 by a snap hook 118.

With further reference to Fig. 1, the adult bar 20 has suspendedtherefrom a pair of manual rings 130 and 132 releasably secured by snaphooks 134 and 136, respectively, to circlets 138 and 140 at the lowerends of chains 142 and 144. The upper ends of chains 142 and 144 aredetachably connected, respectively, by fasteners such as snap hooks 146and 148 to collars 150 and 152 slidably surrounding the adult bar 20.The collars and 152 are maintained in the position shown in Fig. l bysnap hooks 154 and 156 secured to positioning chain 158 extending from aloop 16% mounted on connector 64. As seen more clearly in Fig. 5, theopposite end of positioning chain 158 is detachably secured by a snaphook 162 engaging a loop 164 mounted on connector 26. A middle fastenersuch as snap hook 166 is attached, to positioning chain 158 forpositioning other exercise devices, as hereinafter described.

The A-frame 62 supports, as viewed in Fig. l, a backboard 170 securedthereto by bolts and supporting a basketball ring 172 and net 174.

The gymnastic apparatus shown in Fig. l'can be readily adapted to theform shownin Fig. 2. The manual rings 135) and 132 are detachedfromcirclets'138 and .140. Then the swing St? is detached from childish bar24 by disengaging snap hookslltl and 112. Thereafter the swing 80 ispositioned beneath the adult bar and the snap hooks 110 and 112 areengaged with circlets 138 and 149, respectively, so as to suspend theswing 80 beneath the adult bar 20. It will be seen that the combinedlengths of the chains 82, 84, 142, and 144 are sufficient to suspend theseat 9% at position conveniently adjacent the ground and to provide anarc of swinging appropriate for an adult or an older child;

The form of gymnastic apparatus illustrated in Fig. 2 has been furtheradapted in that a punching bag 176 is suspended from platform 178connected by appropriate braces 18th and 132 to a backboard 184 attachedby nut and bolt assemblies 186 to A-frame 62. 7

Referring to Fig. 5, the flexibility and adaptability of the gymnasticapparatus of the invention are further illustrated. in this form of thegymnastic apparatus, a knotted climbing rope-188 is suspended by adetachable snap hook 190 from collar 156 which has been moved to thecenter of adult bar 20 and is held there by engagement with snap hook166 depending from the center of positioning chain 153. A sand bag 192,,for punching or tackling practice, is suspended from a rope 124 deloop116 and the positioning chain 96 swung downwardly to lie adjacent frameleg 48. The snap hook 118 is then connected to loop 20% fixedly securedto the lower portion of leg 48. Similarly, the snap hook 162 is detachedfrom loop 164 and the positioning chain 153 is swung downwardly to lieadjacent frame leg 66. The snap hook 162 is then connected to a loop 202fixedly secured to the lower portion of leg 66.

To complete forming the configuration shown in Fig. 6, the collars 92and 94 are moved to the opposite ends of childish bar 24. Similarly, thecollars 150 and 152 are moved to the opposite ends of adult bar 20.

Referring to Fig. 3, the sling 86 for supporting the swing seat includestwo legs 224 and 226 with overlapping and registering eyelets at theirends for engagement by snap hooks. A bight portion 228 includes ahorizontal part 236 engaging the lower surface of seat 96 and twovertical parts 232 and 234 extending through spaced holes in seat 90.

In Fig. 4, there is illustrated another form of sling 236 whereinelements similar to the elements shown in Fig. 3 have the same referencenumerals. The sling 236 differs from the sling 86 in that legs 238 and240 are welded together at their upper ends and have one aperture 242extending through the joined ends for receiving snap hooks as describedabove.

Thus, it will be seen that the invention provides gymnastic apparatususable by both adults and children and adaptable to various types ofexercise and recreation. The gymnastic apparatus is constructed forconvenient adaptation to configurations wherein various exerciseimplements can be readily attached thereto.

While present preferred embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be recognized that the invention canbe otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a gymnastic apparatus comprising a frame including an exercisebar; supports secured to said exercise bar for supporting saidexercise'bar at a position above a surface located beneath the gymnasticapparatus; means positioned on said exercise bar for suspending exercisedevices from said bar, said suspending means being movable along thelength of said exercise bar to various positions; and means for locatingsaid suspending means at positions along the length of said exercisebar; the improvement wherein said locating means includes a positioningelement extending substantially parallel to said exercise bar, and areleasable fastener connected by an interlocking connection both to saidpositioning element at a point therealon'g and to said suspending means;whereby the position of said suspending means along the length of saidexercise bar is substantially fixed in a releasable manner. t

2. The invention as set forth in claimjl wherein said suspending meansis a collar including a sleeve surrounding said exercise bar, and twoloops secured to said sleeve for connection respectively to saidpositioning element and an exercise device.

3. In a gymnastic apparatus comprising a central sup: port; asubstantially-horizontal upper exercise bar secured to the upper part ofsaid central support and extending therefrom, a substantially-horizontallower exercise bar secured to an intermediate part-of said centralsupport and extending therefrom, said lower exercise bar being spaced asubstantial distance below said upper exercise bar, means supporting theend of said upper exercise bar remote from saidcentral support, meanssupporting the end of said lower exercise bar remote from said centralsupport, and means for suspending exercise devices from said exercisebars; the improvement which comprises said suspending 7 means includingsuspension bars to various positions; an upper positioning memberextending substantially parallel to and adjacent said upper exercisebar; a lower positioning member extending substantially parallel to andadjacent said lower exercise bar; and releasable fasteners fordetachably connecting said suspension members to spaced points along thelengths of said positioning members by an interlock ing connection;whereby the position of said suspension members along the length of saidexercise bars can be substantially fixed in a releasable manner.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein said releasablefasteners are fixedly secured to said positioning members and detachablyconnect-able to said suspension members.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 4 wherein said releasablefasteners are snap hooks.

6. Gymnastic apparatus comprising a frame including a central support; asubstantially-horizontal upper adult exercise bar secured to the upperpart of said central support and extending therefrom; asubstantially'horizontal lower childish exercise bar secured to anintermediate part of said central support and extending therefrom, saidlower childish bar being spaced a substantial distically-disposedA-frame, said central A-frame including two legs extending from thevertex of the A-frame divergently downwardly for engagement with asupporting surface, and a cross bar extending between said legs at aposition spaced substantialy below said vertex; asubstantially-horizontal upper adult exercise bar secured to saidcentral A-frame atthe vertex thereof and extending therefrom; a firstend A-frame having its vertex secured to the end of said upper adultexercise bar remote from said central A-frame, said first end A-frameincluding two divergent downwardly-extending legs and a cross barforming a mounting for exercise devices; a substantiallyhorizontal lowerchildish exercise bar secured to said cross bar of said central A-frameand extending therefrom; a second end A-frame having its vertex securedto the end of said lower childish exercise bar remote from said centralA-fname, said second end A-frame tance below said upper exercise bar;means supporting the ends of both said exercise bars remote from saidcentral support; a plurality of collars positioned on said exercisebars, said collars being slidably movable along the length of saidexercise bars, each said collar including a sleeve surrounding said barand means secured to said sleeve for connecting exercise devicesthereto; an upper positioning chain extending adjacent to said upperadult exercise bar; a lower positioning chain extending adjacentsaidlower childish exercise bar; and, fasteners detachably connectingsaid collars to spaced points along the lengths of said positioningchains; whereby the position of said collars along the length of saidexercise bars is substantially fixed in a releasable manner.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein said positioning chainsextend substantially parallel to but spaced from said exercise bars; andsaid chains are attached to said supports located at the ends of saidexercise bars.

8. A gymnastic apparatus comprising a central verincluding two divergentdownwardly-extending legs and a cross-bar; collars slidably positionedon both said exercise bars; longitudinal positioning members extendingsubstantially parallel to and adjacent to said exercise bars, each saidpositioning member being about as long as the exercise bar to which itis adjacent; fasteners fixedly attached to said positioning members atspaced positions therealong, said fasteners being constructed forreleasable interlocking connection with said collars; said positioningmembers being connected to said frame at opposite ends of said exercisebars, said positioning members being releasably connected at one endthereof; and loops secured to two said frame legs for attachment to saidpositioning members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS694,442 Suder Mar. 4, 1902 838,539 Haye Dec. 18, 1906 1,046,329 ReachDec. 3, 1912 1,646,160 Milam Oct. 18, 1927 1,914,555 Connelly June 20,1933 1,974,531 Dahl Sept. 25, 1934 2,079,767 Larsen May 11, 19372,638,967 Morton et al. May 19, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT oFrIcECERTIFICATION OF C0 RECTION March 28V 1961 Lucien L. Farkas It ish'ereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read'ascorrected below.

Column 1 line 7O after Wand second occurrence,

insert the following as a new paragraph:

is a fragmentary vertical section through one of the horizontal bars andshowing one of the slidable collars for suspending the various exerciseapparatus.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of August 1961.

Fig, 7

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents

